Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26348163›Full record

SynthesisThe Clinical journal of pain2015

Psychological Interventions for Vaccine Injections in Children and Adolescents: Systematic Review of Randomized and Quasi-Randomized Controlled Trials.

Kathryn A Birnie, Christine T Chambers, Anna Taddio, C Meghan McMurtry, Melanie Noel, Rebecca Pillai Riddell, Vibhuti Shah, HELPinKids&Adults Team

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in The Clinical journal of pain, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
24citing papers in PubMed, 9 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

24 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Reducing distress during vaccine injections: 2026 clinical practice guideline update.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2026
    Guideline
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Pooled it
  7. Pooled it
  8. Pooled it
  9. Reducing pain during vaccine injections: clinical practice guideline.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2015
    Guideline
  10. Trial
  11. Trial
  12. Article
  13. Observational
  14. Review
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Allergen Immunotherapy in Young Children.Current allergy and asthma reports · 2022
    Review
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Kathryn A BirnieDepartments of *Psychology and Neuroscience ‡Pediatrics, Dalhousie University †Centre for Pediatric Pain Research, IWK Health Centre, Halifax, NS §Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto ∥The Hospital for Sick Children ‡‡York University §§Mount Sinai Hospital ∥∥Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto ¶Department of Psychology, University of Guelph, Guelph #Children's Health Research Institute **Department of Paediatrics, Western University, London, ON ††Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, AB, Canada.
Christine T Chambers
Anna Taddio
C Meghan McMurtry
Melanie Noel
Rebecca Pillai Riddell
Vibhuti Shah
HELPinKids&Adults Team

Funding

Canadian Institutes of Health Research KRS 132031
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThis systematic review evaluated the effectiveness of psychological interventions for reducing vaccination pain and related outcomes in children and adolescents. DESIGN/

methodsDatabase searches identified relevant randomized and quasi-randomized controlled trials. Data were extracted and pooled using established methods. Pain, fear, and distress were considered critically important outcomes.

resultsTwenty-two studies were included; 2 included adolescents. Findings showed no benefit of false suggestion (n=240) for pain (standardized mean difference [SMD] -0.21 [-0.47, 0.05]) or distress (SMD -0.28 [-0.59, 0.11]), or for use of repeated reassurance (n=82) for pain (SMD -0.18 [-0.92, 0.56]), fear (SMD -0.18 [-0.71, 0.36]), or distress (SMD 0.10 [-0.33, 0.54]). Verbal distraction (n=46) showed reduced distress (SMD -1.22 [-1.87, -0.58]), but not reduced pain (SMD -0.27 [-1.02, 0.47]). Similarly, video distraction (n=328) showed reduced distress (SMD -0.58 [-0.82, -0.34]), but not reduced pain (SMD -0.88 [-1.78, 0.02]) or fear (SMD 0.08 [-0.25, 0.41]). Music distraction demonstrated reduced pain when used with children (n=417) (SMD -0.45 [-0.71, -0.18]), but not with adolescents (n=118) (SMD -0.04 [-0.42, 0.34]). Breathing with a toy (n=368) showed benefit for pain (SMD -0.49 [-0.85, -0.13]), but not fear (SMD -0.60 [-1.22, 0.02]); whereas breathing without a toy (n=136) showed no benefit for pain (SMD -0.27 [-0.61, 0.07]) or fear (SMD -0.36 [-0.86, 0.15]). There was no benefit for a breathing intervention (cough) in children and adolescents (n=136) for pain (SMD -0.17 [-0.41, 0.07]).

conclusionsPsychological interventions with some evidence of benefit in children include: verbal distraction, video distraction, music distraction, and breathing with a toy.

Indexed as

InjectionsPainPsychotherapyVaccinationAdolescentChildDatabases, BibliographicHumansRandomized Controlled Trials as Topic

Identifiers

PMID26348163
PMCPMC4900411

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.